Data Centers in San Diego

San Diego – Southern California's Resilient Hub

Executive Summary

San Diego is a strategic data center market for organizations in the life sciences, defense, and research sectors requiring resilient infrastructure outside the more congested Los Angeles metro. Its location provides excellent, low-latency connectivity for Southern California and serves as a critical cross-border gateway into Northern Mexico. This market offers a stable alternative for disaster recovery and production workloads that serve the region.

San Diego: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

San Diego provides a reliable connectivity profile, acting as a secondary hub to the primary West Coast interconnection market in Los Angeles.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality The market is served by over 15 carriers, as of September 2025. All 15 data centers in San Diego are carrier-neutral facilities, offering customers a competitive environment for network services and pricing.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps There are no direct public cloud on-ramps within San Diego's data centers as of September 2025. Businesses connect to all major cloud providers, including AWS, Google Cloud (GCP), and Microsoft Azure, via dedicated private network connections to the primary access hubs in Los Angeles.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) While some local peering exists, most traffic is exchanged privately between networks or through the major public internet exchanges located in Los Angeles. This ensures efficient traffic flow and low-latency routes for West Coast content delivery.

Bare Metal Bare metal server solutions are readily available from providers in the area. Options from vendors like Hivelocity and phoenixNAP give businesses access to dedicated compute without the overhead of managing their own hardware.

Power Analysis

California's power landscape is defined by progressive energy policies and a diverse generation mix, impacting both cost and reliability.

Average Cost Of Power Industrial power costs in San Diego are estimated between $0.19 and $0.23/kWh, as of September 2025. These rates are higher than the national average but support a grid with a significant and growing renewable energy portfolio.

Power Grid Reliability The power grid serving San Diego's primary data center corridors is well-engineered and stable. The energy mix includes approximately 45% from fossil fuels (mostly natural gas), 40% from renewables (solar, hydro, wind), and 8% from nuclear sources.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

San Diego's economy is diverse, with strong technology, life sciences, and government sectors driving demand for digital infrastructure.

Proximity To Key Business Districts Data centers are located near key commercial zones like Sorrento Valley, a major hub for biotech, scientific research, and technology companies. This proximity allows for low-latency connections essential for research and development activities.

Regional Market Reach The market effectively serves the entire Southern California region, from Orange County down to the U.S.-Mexico border. It is a vital digital gateway for businesses operating in Tijuana and the greater Baja California industrial region.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers While California lacks a specific data center tax abatement program, businesses can leverage other financial benefits. General state-wide incentives for energy efficiency, alternative fuels, and EV charging station installation can help reduce capital and operational expenses for facility operators.

Natural Disaster Risk

San Diego has a high natural disaster risk profile, consistent with its location in Southern California. The FEMA National Risk Index score for the area is 89.02 out of 100, as of September 2025.

The primary risks contributing to this score are:

• Earthquake
• Wildfire
• Drought
• Heatwave
• Landslide
• Riverine Flooding